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Chap Copyright No.. 

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 




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I 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories 

Supplementary to First Reader* 




BY 

M. WINIFRED HALIBURT ON, 

Principal of Practice and Observation School, State Normal and Industrial College, 
Greensboro, N, C,, 

AND 

P. P. CLAXTON, 


Professor of Pedagogy, State Normal and Industrial College, 



Richmond, Va.: 

B. F. Johnson Publishing Company* 

1900 . 

U 


36066 


Library of Congresr, 

Two Copies Received 

AUG 18 1900 

Copyright ontry 

SECOND COPY. 

Delivered to 

ORDER DIVISION, 

-SFP 5 1900 


G%%2j 

(rh- 


Copyright, 1 900, by 

M. Winifred Haliburton and P. P. Claxton. 


74153 



[ 3 ] 



Contents 


Page. 


1. The Frog Prince 13 

2. The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean 18 

3. Fairy Tell-True, Part 1 21 

4. Fairy Tell-True, Part II 24 

5. Little Red-Cap . 28 

6. The Lady-Bird and the Fly 33 

7. ' The Crystal Ball 37 

8. The Lost Son 43 

9. The Little Rabbit’s Bride 49 

10. A Bit of Advice. — Youth's Companion (by permission), 52 

11. Queen Lettice of the Golden Hair 53 

12. The Old Man and His Grandson 58 

13. The Twelve Windows 60 

14. The Palace of the Golden Path 65 

15. The House in the Wood, Part 1 67 

16. The Hou’se in the Wood, Part II 69 

17. The House in the Wood, Part III 73 

18. The Two Sisters 77 

19. The Enchanted Stag 82 

20. The Gold Spinner, Part 1 87 

21. The Gold Spinner, Part II 91 

22. The Three Feathers 94 

23. The King of the Forest, Part 1 100 

24. The King of the Forest, Part II 102 

25. Briar-Rose, Part 1 108 

26. Briar-Rose, Part II Ill 

27. Cinderella, the Little Ash-Girl, Part 1 116 

28. Cinderella, the Little Ash-Girl, Part II 118 

29. Cinderella, the Little Ash-Girl, Part III 122 

30. Cinderella, the Little Ash-Girl, Part IV 125 

31. The Dreaming Fairy. — Thomas Hood 133 

32. Slumber Song . — Eben E. Rexford (by permission) . . 134 

Lists of Words of More than One Syllable 135 

Phonic Chart 142 

[ 5 ] 



PREFACE 


T HE stories contained in this little book have been 
told among the Teutonic peoples from genera- 
tion to generation, some of them for many 
thousands of years. They belong to the childhood of 
the race, and must ever find a right hearty welcome 
among children. 

An effort has been made here to adapt for use in 
the lowest grades of our schools twenty of Grimm’s 
collection of Marchen. Everyone has witnessed the 
eagerness with which children listen to these stories, 
and the delight with which they tell them again. 
They will find no less pleasure in reading the stories 
for themselves, when this can be done during the first 
or second year in school, before the time for pleasure 
in such stories has passed away. In most editions of 
these stories in children’s books they have been 
spoiled by an attempt to soften down a just punish- 
ment, in answer to a goody-goody morality. We do 
not believe this is best, and so have followed closely 
the original, as the sense of justice in the child and 
the race demands. 

[ 7 ] 


8 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


A child who has read through one or two First 
Readers will find no difficulty in reading, at sight, 
any of the stories contained in this book. The 
sentences are short and simple. The words are those 
most familiar to the child at this period of its life. 
There is no word in the book that will not be easily 
understood by the average child who has been in 
school one year. To make sure of this, the stories 
were read to children of this class a number of times, 
and no word not fully understood was allowed to 
remain. Finally, many of the most difficult stories 
were printed and put into the hands of other children 
of the same grade of advancement, that they might 
read them for themselves. This they did without 
difficulty and with marked pleasure. 

No attempt has been made to avoid the use of 
words of two or more syllables, when they belong to 
the vocabulary of the child. About two hundred and 
seventy-five of these words have been printed in 
columns in the last part of the book. The division 
into syllables here will facilitate their pronunciation, 
especially for those children who have been taught the 
sound values of the single letters and of the most usual 
combinations of letters. For those children who have 


Preface. 


9 


not been taught the sound values of the single letters 
and the digraphs and trigraphs, brief drills on the 
chart on pages 143 and 144 will be helpful. 

Only the essential part of each story is told. 
Children will readily add all needful details from the 
stores of their own imagination, and lend the most 
pleasing colors from the play of their own fancy. 

Children should be encouraged to tell the stories 
again in their own words and phrases ; and the 
shorter and simpler ones should be told in writing. 
No better language lessons can be given. Always 
let the children read aloud the stories they have 
written. Have children write with pencil or pen on 
a good quality of paper, and preserve everything 
written. If their work is destroyed from day to day, 
it will soon be carelessly done. 

If this book adds pleasure and variety to the chil- 
dren’s reading at this period of their school life, its 
purpose will be accomplished. 

Our thanks are due Mr. Eben E. Rexford and 
the publishers of the Youth' s Companion , for permis- 
sion to use the “ Slumber Song ” and “ A Bit of 
Advice.” 

October, 1899. 





A 






“ By the moon we sport and play, 
With the night begins our day; 
As we dance the dew doth fall. 
Trip it, little urchins all, 

Lightly as the little bee, 

Two by two, and three by three; 
And about we go, and about go 





«. — 








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C 11 ] 



THE FROG PRINCE. 

[ 12 ] 


Grimm's Fairy Stories* 


The Frog Prince* 

A king had a beautiful daughter. Her 
face was like the flowers. Her hair was 
like the sunshine. 

Near the king’s castle was a forest. In 
the forest was a fountain of clear, bright 
water. 

One warm summer day the princess was 
playing in the forest. She was tossing a 
golden ball. As she tossed the ball, it fell 
into the fountain and sank out of sight. 

The princess began to weep. Then she . 
heard a voice from the water. The voice said, 
“Why do you weep, 0, king’s daughter?” 

The princess turned and looked. She saw 
a frog stretching his thick, ugly neck from 
the water. 


[ 13 ] 


14 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


“Oh, is it you, old water paddler?” she 
said: “I am crying for my golden ball. It 
fell into the water. 7 ’ 

“What will you give me, if I get it for 
you? 77 asked the frog. 

“Oh, I will give you my prettiest dresses. 
I will give you my pearls. 1 will give you 
my golden crown. Do get my ball for me! 77 
said the princess. 

“I do not want any of these things, 77 said 
the frog. “I want you to love me. I want 
you to be my companion and play-fellow. I 
want to eat at your table, from your golden 
plate. I want to sleep in your little silken 
bed. 77 

“It shall be as you wish, 77 said the princess. 
“Now bring me my golden ball. 77 

The frog dived into the water and brought 
up the golden ball in his mouth. 

The princess caught the ball and ran away 
with it. 

“Wait! wait! 77 said the frog. “Take me 
with you. 77 


The Frog Prince. 


15 


But the princess only ran the faster. 

The next day, the princess sat at dinner 
with the king, her father. A strange noise 
was heard at the door — “Splish! splash! 
splash !” Then a voice said: 

“King’s daughter, king’s daughter, open to 
me; 

You promised that I your companion should 

be, 

When you hid in the shade from the sun’s 
bright beam, 

And I brought up your ball from the foun- 
tain’s cool stream.” 

The princess turned pale and shook with 
fright. “What is the matter, my child?” 
asked the king. Then she told him all about 
the frog. 

The king shook his head and looked sad. 
“You must keep your promise, my daughter, 
even if it was made only to a frog,” said 
he. 

The king opened the door and the frog 


16 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


hopped in. When the frog saw the princess, 
he said, “Take me up beside you.” 

The king bade his daughter place the frog 
on a chair beside her. 

From the chair, the frog jumped upon the 
table. 

“Push your plate nearer me, and we will 
eat together,” said the frog. 

“Iam tired, princess, put me in your little 
bed,” he said, after he had eaten. 

The princess began to weep ; for she could 
not bear to touch the cold, ugly thing. 

At last she carried the frog away. But 
as soon as she was in her room, she dashed 
it against the wall. “There ! I guess you will 
keep quiet now, you ugly thing!” she said. 

When she saw the poor frog lifeless at 
her feet, she was sorry. She picked it up 
tenderly and tears of pity fell from her eyes. 
Then she loved the frog. 

Her tears fell upon the frog. In a mo- 
ment, he was changed into a young prince, 
with beautiful, friendly eyes. 


The Frog Prince. 


17 


The prince told the princess an old witch 
had changed him into a frog. She had said 
he should be a frog until a king’s daughter 
should love and pity him. 

The prince married the beautiful princess, 
and they lived happily for many long years. 



2 



18 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean* 


Once an old woman gathered a dish of 
beans for dinner. She made a fire upon the 
hearth to cook them. She lighted the fire 
with a handful of straw. She put the beans 
in a pot and set it on the fire. But she 
dropped one of the beans, and it fell on the 
floor near a straw. 

Soon a live coal sprung out of the fire and 
fell near the straw and bean. 

“ Where did you come from?” asked the 
Straw. 

“I sprang out of the fire,” said the Coal. 
“If I had not, I should have been dead. I 
should have been burnt to ashes.” 

“The old woman tried to put me into the 
pot,” said the Bean. “But I am glad she 
dropped me. The other beans will be boiled 
to pieces.” 

“She put sixty of my brothers under the 
pot, and they have been burned to death. 


The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean. 19 

I am glad I slipped through her fingers. I 
should have been burned, too,’ 7 said the 
Straw. 

“But what shall we do now?” asked the 
Coal. 

“Let us travel out into the world,” said 
the Bean. 

This pleased the Coal and the Straw. So 
all three set out to see the world. 

Soon they came to a little stream. There 
was no bridge over the stream, and they did 
not know how to cross it. 

They thought a long time. At last the 
Straw said, “I will lay myself across like a 
bridge, and you may walk over on me.” 
The Straw laid itself across the stream, 
making a fine bridge for the Coal and the 
Bean. 

The Coal tripped lightly upon the new 
bridge and ran half-way across. Then it 
heard the water running beneath it. This 
frightened the Coal, and it stopped and 
stood still. When the Coal stopped, the 


20 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


Straw began to burn. Soon it broke and 
fell into the stream. The Coal slipped in 
after it and was drowned. The Bean thought 
this a good joke and began to laugh at it. 
It laughed so loud that it burst. 

The Bean was in a sad plight ; for burst- 
ing is as bad as being cooked. But, by 
good luck, a tailor came that way, who had 
pity on the Bean. He took out his needle 
and thread and sewed the Bean together 
again. 

The Bean thanked the tailor for this. But 
the tailor had used black thread; and, since 
that time, some beans have black seams 
down their backs. 



Fairy Tell-True. 


21 


Fairy Tell-True* 

PART IL 

A little girl lived near a large forest. She 
was just three years old. Her father was a 
wood-cutter. He was very poor, so poor 
they sometimes had nothing to eat. 

One morning, the poor man was working 
in the forest: He was very sad. He was 
wondering what would become of his dear 
child. Suddenly he saw a beautiful lady 
standing before him. She had a crown of 
bright stars on her head. Large diamonds 
glittered in her hair. “I am Fairy Tell- 
True , 77 she said, “the mother of all good 
children. I know you are very poor. Bring 
your little girl to me. I will be a mother to 
her and will take good care of her . 77 The 
man loved his child ; but he gladly gave her 
to Fairy Tell-True. 

Fairy Tell-True carried the little girl to 
her palace in the clouds. Here she was 


22 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


quite happy. She had good things to eat, 
and beautiful clothes of silk and gold. She 
played all day long with the fairy’s good 
children. 

When she was fourteen years old, the 
fairy said to her, “I have a long journey to 
make. I shall leave all my keys with you. 
There are twelve rooms you may open; but 
this little gold key belongs to a room you 
must not open. The little girl promised to 
obey, and Fairy Tell-True went away. When 
Fairy Tell-True was gone, the little girl 
began to look through the rooms, and to 
show all the wonderful things to the other 
children. 

When she had gone through the twelve 
rooms, she began to wish she might go into 
the last one, too. 

At last, she said, “I will unlock it, and 
take just one peep.” 

“Oh, don’t,” cried one of the good chil- 
dren. “That would be wrong.” 

But when all the children were out at 


Fairy Tell-True. 


23 


play, she said, “I will look into that room. 
No one can ever know it.” 

She put the key into the lock and turned 
it round. The door sprang open, and she 
saw three beautiful fairies. They were seated 
on a throne of fire, in a blaze of light. She 
went up to the fire and put her finger into 
the glittering light. When she drew it back, 
it was covered with gold. This so frightened 
her that she quickly shut the door and ran 
away, to wash the gold off* her finger. She 
rubbed it a long time, but it would not 
come off. 

Soon Fairy Tell-True came home and asked 
for the keys. 

“Did you unlock the door with the golden 
key?” she said. 

The little girl said she did not. Fairy 
Tell-True laid her hand on the little girl’s 
heart and looked into her eyes. Then she 
knew the little girl had opened the door. 

But the girl said again, “No, I did not.” 

“You have told me a falsehood. You are 


24 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


not fit to live with my good children,” said 
Fairy Tell-True. 

As she said this, the little girl fell into a 
deep sleep and sank down — down — down to 
the earth. 


PART IL 

When the little girl awoke, she was in a 
large, dark forest. 

She tried to call for help ; but she could 
not speak. She was dumb. She tried to 
find her way out of the forest ; but she could 
not do this, either. She had to live in the 
forest for a long time. At night she slept 
in a cave on some dry leaves. She had 
nothing to eat but nuts, roots, and berries. 
Sometimes she thought of Fairy Tell-True’s 
bright palace in the clouds. This made her 
weep, and her heart would almost break. 

Years went by. The little girl became a 
full-grown maiden. Yet she saw no one. 
Her clothes became rags; but her long hair 
covered her like a cloak of gold. 


Fairy Tell-True. 


25 


One day when the young king was hunt- 
ing in the forest he saw the maiden sitting 
under a tree, her long golden hair falling 
round her. 

“Who are you, pretty maiden? 7 ’ asked the 
king. “Why do you sit alone in this dreary 
place?” 

But the girl could not answer him ; for she 
was dumb. 

“Will you go with me to my palace?” he 
asked. 

She bowed her head, and the king carried 
her away to his palace. She was so beautiful 
that the king soon married her and made 
her the queen of the land. 

When she had a little son, Fairy Tell-True 
came to her and said: “You may speak 
now. Did you open the door with the 
golden key? ” 

“No, I did not,” said the queen. 

Then the fairy took the baby and left the 
queen dumb again. 

When the people had tried to find the 
baby and could not, they told the king the 


26 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


queen had killed it and had hid its body. 
But the king loved his queen, and would 
not believe the people. 

When the queen had another son, Fairy 
Tell-True came again. “Did you open the 
door with the golden key? Confess, and I 
will bring back your first son and let you 
speak. If you do not confess, I will take 
this baby, too.” 

But the queen said, “No, I did not open 
the door with the golden key.” 

So Fairy Tell-True carried away that baby. 

The queen’s next baby was a girl. When 
it was born, the fairy came again and said, 
“Follow me.” Then she led the queen to 
her palace in the clouds and showed her 
the two little boys playing with the good 
children. 

The queen was glad to see the little boys 
and wished to carry them with her. 

“Speak the truth,” said the fairy, “and I 
will give you back your children and your 
voice. Did you open the door with the golden 
key?” 


Fairy Tell-True. 


27 


“No; said the queen; and again she sank 
down to the earth. 

When the people could not find the little 
girl, they said: “Now we know the queer* is 
a wicked woman. She has eaten her chil- 
dren. She must die.” The queen could 
not speak to tell them where the children 
were; so they bound her to a stake to burn 
her. 

When the flames were around her, the 
queen’s heart was sad for her sin. “Oh, if I 
could only see the good fairy,” she thought, 
“I would tell her that. I opened the door.” 

Then her voice came to her, and she cried 
aloud, “Oh, good Fairy Tell-True, I did 
open the door with the golden key.” 

As she spoke, the rain fell and put out 
the fire ; and Fairy Tell-True stood before the 
queen with her three lovely children. “You 
are free. Always speak the truth and teach 
your children to be true,” said the fairy. 
Then she flew away, leaving the queen with 
the king and their children. 


28 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


Little Red-Cap. 


Once upon a time there lived a sweet 
little girl. Every one who saw her loved 
her. But her grandmother loved her best 
of all. 

Her grandmother gave the little girl a 
red velvet cap. She liked it so much she 
would wear nothing else. So she was called 
little Bed-Cap. 

One day little Bed-Cap’s mother said to 
her: “Come, Little Bed-Cap. Here is a nice 
piece of meat. And here is a bottle of wine, 
too. Take them to your grandmother. She 
is sick, and these will do her good.” 

The grandmother lived away, across the 
wood. A narrow path among the trees led 
to her house. 

As little Bed-Cap was going along the 
path, she met a wolf. 

“Good-day, Little Bed-Cap,” said the 
wolf. “Where are you going so early?” 


Little Red-Cap. 


29 


“ Thank you, Mr. Wolf,” said Little Red- 
Cap. “I am going to my grandmother’s.” 

“What are you carrying under your 
apron?” 

“Meat and wine.” 

“Where does your grandmother live?” 

“On the other side of the forest. Her 
cottage stands under three great oaks. 
There are some nut-bushes near by. You 
can easily find it.” 

Then the wolf thought : “I must eat her. 
She will taste good. I must eat her grand- 
mother, too. How may I do it? Let me 
see!” Then he said: “Look, what beautiful 
flowers, Little Red-Cap ! Your grandmother 
would like some of them. Listen, Little 
Red-Cap! How sweetly the birds sing!” 

Little Red-Cap stopped to listen to the 
birds. Then she wandered into the woods, 
to gather the flowers for her grandmother. 

The old wolf ran straight to the cottage 
and knocked at the door. 

“Who’s there? ” asked the grandmother? 


30 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


“It is Little Red-Cap. She has brought 
you some meat and wine. Please open the 
door,” said the wolf. 

“ I am so glad you have come ! Lift the 
latch and come in. I am too weak to get 
up,” answered the grandmother. 

So the wolf lifted the latch, and the door 
flew open. He sprang into the bed and 
swallowed the old lady. 

Then the wolf put on the grandmother's 
clothes and tied her cap on his head. He 
got into the bed and drew the blankets over 
him. 

When Little Red-Cap came, she found the 
door wide open. She went into the room 
and said, “Good-morning!” but no one 
answered. She went to the bed and drew 
back the curtains. 

“Oh! grandmother, what large ears you 
have! ” 

“The better to hear with, my dear.” 

“And what large eyes you have!” 

“The better to see with, my dear.” 


Fairy Tell-True. 


31 


“And what large hands you have!” 

“The better to feel with, my dear.” • 

“But, grandmother, what long teeth you 
have! ” 

“The better to eat you with;” and the 
wolf sprang out of the bed and swallowed 
up poor Little Red-Cap. 

Then he lay down and went to sleep. He 
snored so loud a hunter heard him. The 
hunter thought it was the old woman, and 
came to see if she wanted anything. When 
he saw the wolf, he shot him dead. 



The fairies are hopping, 

The small flowers cropping, 
And with dew dropping, 
a Skip through the greaves. 

At barley-break they play 
Merrily all the day; 

At night themselves they lay 
Upon the soft leaves. Q 


[ 32 ] 


The Lady-Bird and the Fly. 


33 


The Lady-Bird and the Fly* 


A lady-bird and a fly once kept house 
together. They brewed their beer in an 
egg-shell. 

One day the lady-bird fell in and was 
burnt. Then the fly screamed so loud that 
the little door of the room asked, ‘ ‘ What 
are you screaming for, fly?” 

“ Because lady-bird has burnt herself.” 

Then the little door began to creak. 
“What are you creaking for?” asked the 
little broom in the corner. 

“Shall I not creak?” answered the door — 

“Lady-bird is burnt 
And little fly weeps.” 

Then the little broom began to sweep as 
fast as it could. 

Soon a little stream passed the door. It 
said, “Why are you sweeping so, little 
broom?” 

3 


34 Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 

“Shall I not sweep?” answered the little 
broom — 

“Lady-bird is burnt, 

Little fly weeps, 

Little door creaks ; 

So little broom sweeps.” 

“Then I will run,” said the stream, and 
it began to run very fast. 

“Why do you run so?” asked the fire. 

“Shall I not run?” said the stream — 

“Lady-bird is burnt, 

Little fly weeps, 

Little door creaks, 

Little broom sweeps; 

So little stream runs.” 

Then the fire said, “So I will burn; ” and 
it burst into a bright flame. 

A tree grew near the fire. It said, “Fire, 
why do you burn so?” 

“Shall I not burn?” said the fire — . 


The Lady-Bird and the Fly. 35 

“Lady-bird is burnt, 

Little fly weeps, 

Little door creaks, 

Little broom sweeps, 

Little stream runs; 

So little fire burns.” 

“So I will rustle,” said the little tree; 
and it began to rustle so that its leaves fell 
off. 

A maiden came by, carrying a little 
pitcher. She said to the little tree: “Tree, 
why do you rustle so?” 

“Shall I not rustle?” answered the tree — 

“Lady-bird is burnt, 

Little fly weeps, 

Little door creaks, 

Little broom sweeps, 

Little stream runs, 

Little fire burns; 

So little tree rustles.” 

“Then I will break my pitcher,” said the 
maiden, and she broke it. 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


Then the well said, “Maiden, why do yon 
break your pitcher? 

“Shall I not break my pitcher?” said the 
maiden — 

“Lady-bird is burnt, 

Little fly weeps, 

Little door creaks, 

Little broom sweeps, 

Little stream runs, 

Little fire burns, 

Little tree rustles; 

So little maiden broke her pitcher.” 

“Then I will begin to flow,” said the 
well. 

Then the water began to flow so fast that 
the maiden, the tree, the fire, the stream, 
the broom, the door, the fly, and the lady- 
bird were all drowned together; and there 
was no one left to go to the funeral. 


The Crystal Ball. 


37 


The Crystal Ball. 


A witch had three sons. They loved 
each other dearly. But she did not love 
them. So she changed the oldest into an 
eagle. He lived on the top of a high moun- 
tain, and was often seen flying about, high 
among the clouds. She changed the second 
son into a whale. He lived in the deep sea. 
He was often seen spouting great streams of 
water into the air. 

The youngest son was afraid his wicked 
mother would change him into a bear or 
a wolf. So he ran away from home. Soon 
he heard of a beautiful princess who was 
under the spell of a witch. The princess 
lived in a grand castle, called the Castle of 
the Golden Sun. The youth made up his 
mind to set the princess free; but he did 
not know how to find the Castle of the 
Golden Sun. 

At last he came to a great forest, and lost 



[ 38 ] 



The Crystal Ball. 


39 


his way in it. One day he met two giants. 
He asked them to show him the way out of 
the forest. 

“Oh! we will show you the way. But 
you must first settle a dispute for us,” said 
the giants. “We have been fighting over 
this little hat. One of us is just as strong 
as the other, and neither can keep it. Now, 
you must say which ought to have it.” 

“Why do you fight over a little hat like 
that?” asked the young man. 

“Oh!” said the giants, “It is a wishing 
cap. If any one puts it on his head and 
wishes himself in any place, he will be there 
in a minute.” 

“Well, I will put it on and walk off a 
little way,” said the young man. “When I 
call, you may run a race. Whoever gets to 
me first shall have the hat.” 

The giants agreed to this. The young 
man put the hat on his head and walked 
away. But he forgot the giants. He walked 
on and on, and left the giants waiting for 


40 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


him to call them. He was thinking of the 
beautiful princess. At last, he said to him- 
self, “I wish I were at the Castle of the 
Golden Sun.” 

As soon as he said this, he was on the 
top of a high mountain, and the Castle of 
the Golden Sun stood before him. 

He walked into the castle, and went from 
room to room. At last he came to the room 
in which the princess sat. But she was not 
pretty. Her face was the color of ashes. 
Her skin was wrinkled. Her hair was red. 

“Are you the princess who is said to be 
so beautiful?” asked the young man. 

“Ah!” said the princess, “This is not 
my own shape. I am under the spell of a 
witch. Look into that mirror. It will show 
you my true image.” 

The young man looked into the mirror, 
and saw that the princess was the most 
beautiful maiden in the world. But tears 
were rolling down her cheeks. 


The Crystal Ball. 


41 


“Tell me how to set you free!” cried the 
young man. 

The princess said: “Many young men 
have lost their lives trying to free me. I am 
afraid for you to try. I do not want you to 
come to harm.” 

“Only tell me how I can do it,” said he. 
“I am not afraid.” 

“See that high mountain!” said the 
princess. “You must climb to the top of it. 
You will see a wild buffalo standing by a 
spring. Kill him. A large fiery bird will 
spring from his body. Kill the bird, too. 
In her body is a red-hot egg. It has no 
yellow in it. In the egg is a crystal ball. 
If I can hold that crystal ball before the old 
witch, I shall be freed from her spell. Do 
not let the ball fall on the ground. If it 
does fall, it will melt.” 

The young man climbed the mountain. 
He soon found the buffalo and killed him. 
The fiery bird rose from his body, and tried 
to fly away. 


42 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


A large eagle flew down from the sky. 
He drove the fiery bird toward the sea, and 
began to fight her. He wounded her, and 
she dropped the egg, which fell upon a fish- 
erman’s hat. In a moment, the hat was on 
fire. A whale sent up a stream of water 
and put out the fire. 

The young man got the egg, which was 
not hurt, and carried it to the princess. 
She held it before the old witch, and was 
changed into her own beautiful form again. 

“Now that I am free,” said the princess, 
“we must free your brothers, too.” She 
held the ball before the witch again, and in 
a moment, the eagle and the whale became 
handsome young men. 

For this they loved the princess, who 
married their youngest brother; and they 
all lived happily together in the “Castle of 
the Golden Sun.” 


The Lost Son. 


43 


The Lost Son* 


A queen who had no children prayed 
overy day for a little hoy. 

One day two white doves came to her. 
They were good fairies. One of them said : 
“Be happy, good queen. We have come to 
tell you that you shall have a son. He shall 
have great power. Whatever he wishes for 
he shall have/’ 

When the boy was born, the king and 
queen were very happy. 

Every morning the queen took her little 
son to walk in the garden. She bathed him 
in a clear stream that flowed there. 

One day when the queen had bathed the 
baby prince, she sat down to rest, and the 
babe slept in her lap. Every thing was so 
still the queen fell asleep, too. 

The king’s cook was a very wicked man. 
He knew the young prince was to have 
great power, and lie wanted to steal him 


44 Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 

and make the people believe he was his 
own son. 

While the <jueen slept, the cook killed a 
chicken and sprinkled its blood on the grass 
and on the queen’s dress. He carried the 
child to an old woman, who promised to 
keep it until he came for it. 

Then the cook ran to the king and told 
him the queen had let some wild beast kill 
the child and eat it while she slept. The 
child could not be found. The king saw 
the blood on the queen’s dress and believed 
the cook’s story. 

Now, the king had a high tower into 
which the sun and moon could never shine. 
He shut the poor queen into this tower, and 
gave her neither food nor drink. The king 
was so angry with her that he wished her 
to die. 

The two white doves, the good fairies, 
fed the queen every day; but no one saw 
them. 

Then the wicked cook left the king, took 


The Lost Son. 


45 


the young prince with him, and went far 
away. 

One day the cook said to the prince, “Boy, 
wish for a castle with beautiful gardens." 

The prince wished and a castle, with its 
beautiful gardens, sprang up before them. 
The prince wished for everything the cook 
could think of, until they had all they 
wanted. 

When the little prince was lonely in the 
castle, the cook said to him, “Why don't 
you wish for a little girl to play with?" 
The boy spoke the wish. In a moment, a 
little girl stood before him, more beautiful 
than any picture. The young prince and 
the little girl were very happy with each 
other. They played together until they 
were both quite grown. 

But the wicked cook began to be afraid 
of the prince. He feared the prince might 
learn who they both were ; so he said, 
“I will have the boy killed." One day the 
cook called the young girl to him and said : 


46 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


“ To-night, when the boy is asleep, you must 
run this knife into his heart and kill him / 7 
The maiden wept and begged the cook 
not to make her do such a wicked thing- 
“Do as I tell you, or I will kill you , 77 
said the man. 

Then the maiden killed a fawn and took 
its heart to the cook, telling him it was 
the prince’s heart. But the prince was 
hiding in the garden, and two white doves 
were cooing by his side. They were the 
good fairies, telling him about his father 
and mother and about the wicked cook. 

When the doves had flown away, the 
prince wished for the cook to be turned into 
a black dog; and it was so. He begged the 
maiden to go with him into his father’s 
country. He wished to see his mother. 
When the maiden said it was too far, the 
prince changed her into a white flower, 
which he pinned on his coat, just over his 
heart. He led the black dog by a chain. 
Soon the prince came to the tower where 


The Lost Son. 


47 


his mother was. He wished for a ladder. 
Then he climbed the ladder and cried, 
“ Dearest mother, are yon still alive? ” 

When the poor lonely mother saw her 
long-lost son, she was very happy. 

When the prince came to the king’s palace, 
he changed the dog into a cook again, and 
made him tell the king all that had happened. 

The king brought the queen from the dark 
tower and loved her again. Then he shut 
up the wicked cook in the tower. The 
fairies would not feed him, and he died. 

The prince showed his father and mother 
the white flower on his coat, and told them 
of the beautiful maiden who had saved his 
life. Then he changed the flower into a 
maiden again. 

The prince and the maiden were soon 
married. When his father was dead, they 
became king and queen of the land. 



The Little Rabbit’s Bride. 


49 


The Little Rabbit's Bride. 


Once a woman and her daughter lived in 
a garden, which was full of cabbages. But 
a Rabbit came and ate the cabbages. 

One day the woman said, “Mary, go into 
the garden and hunt the Rabbit . 77 

Mary went into the garden and found the 
Rabbit. She said kindly : “There, there, little 
Rabbit! Do not eat all the cabbages . 77 

The Rabbit said: “Come with me, Mary. 
Sit upon my bushy tail. Come with me to 
my bushy house . 77 

But Mary would not go with the Rabbit. 

Next day, the Rabbit came again, and ate 
the cabbages. Then the woman said, “Mary, 
go into the garden and hunt the Rabbit . 77 

Mary went into the garden and found the 
Rabbit again. She said, “There, there, 
little Rabbit! Do not eat all the cabbages . 77 
And the Rabbit said : “Come with me, Mary. 


50 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


Sit upon my bushy tail. Come with me to 
my bushy house.” But Mary would not go 
with the Babbit. 

The third day the Babbit came again and 
ate the cabbages. Again the woman said, 
“Mary, go into the garden and hunt the 
Babbit / 7 

Mary went into the garden and found the 
little Babbit. She said, “There, there, little 
Babbit! Do not eat all the cabbages . 77 

The Babbit said: “Then come with me, 
Mary. Sit on my bushy tail. Come with 
me to my bushy house . 77 

This time Mary sat on the little Babbit’s 
bushy tail. He ran away with her to his 
little bushy house. He set her down in his 
bushy house and said, “Now cook lettuce 
and bran for me. I will invite the wedding 
guests . 77 

Soon the wedding guests came. They were 
all rabbits. The Crow came to marry the 
little Babbit and Mary. The Fox came to 


The Little Rabbit’s Bride. 


51 


help him. The alter was under a rainbow. 
The carpet was made of violets. The birds 
came to sing. The little murmuring brook 
was for the organ. 

But Mary was sad, because she was alone. 
The little Rabbit came and said, “ Get up, 
get up ! The wedding guests are merry and 
happy. ” 

Mary only said, “No!” and wept. 

The little Rabbit went away. But soon 
he came again and said, “Get up, get up! 
The wedding, guests are hungry.” 

The bride said, “No!” again, and still 
she wept. 

The little Rabbit went away again. But 
he soon came back and said, “Get up! The 
wedding guests are waiting for you.” 

Then Mary said, “No! No!” and the 
little Rabbit went away. 

Then Mary made a doll of straw. She 
put her own clothes on it. She gave it red 
lips and blue eyes. She set it on the kettle 


52 Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 

of bran, and then she went home to her 
mother. 

Once more the little Rabbit came and 
said, “Get up, get up!” But there was no 
answer. Then the Rabbit knocked the doll 
on the head. The doll fell over on its side 
and lay quite still. 

The little Rabbit thought his bride was 
dead, and he went away and wept. 


A Bit of Advice* 


“Lady-bug, lady-bug, if I were you, 

I always would carry a bucket of dew, 

To dash on my house if it burned; and 
then, maybe, 

I’d save every dear little lady-bug baby.” 

— Youth's Companion . 


Queen Lettice of the Golden Hair. 


53 


Queen Lettice of the Golden Hair* 

A poor man had climbed into a witch’s 
garden and was cutting some lettuces. The 
witch saw him, and was very angry. 

The poor man fell on his face, and begged 
the witch not to kill him. 

“Well,” said the witch, “take all the 
lettuces you want. I will not hurt you. 
But you must promise to give me your first 
little girl.” 

The man promised, and the witch let him 
go. When his little girl was born, the old 
witch came and took her away. 

The witch named the girl Lettice, because 
of the lettuces in the garden. 

Lettice was the most beautiful child under 
the sun, and the old witch was very proud 
of her. 

When Lettice was fourteen years old, the 
witch took her to a large forest and locked 
her into a high tower. This tower had no 


54 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


door. There was a little window high up 
in the wall; but there were no steps to 
climb by. When the witch wished to visit 
Lettice, she would stand under the window 
and sing: 

“Lettice, Lettice, let down your hair, 
That I may climb without a stair.” 

Lettice had the longest and most beautiful 
hair in the world. It looked like spun gold. 
When the witch called her, Lettice would let 
her hair drop from the window. Then the 
witch would climb by it into the tower. 

Lettice remained in this tower a long 
time. No one but the witch ever saw her. 

One day a king’s son came riding through 
the forest. He passed by the tower and 
heard Lettice singing. She was sitting in 
her little room, high up in the tower. 

The prince tried to find a door in the 
tower; but there was none. As the prince 
stood under the tower, he saw the old witch 
coming. He hid himself and watched her. 


Queen Lettice of the Golden Hair. 55 

The old witch stopped under the window 
and sang: 

“Lettice, Lettice, let down your hair, 
That I may climb without a stair.” 

When the prince had seen the old witch 
climb up into the tower by Lettice’ s long 
golden hair, he went away; but when the 
witch was gone, he came back. He stood 
under the window and sang, as the witch 
had done: 

“Lettice, Lettice, let down your hair, 
That I may climb without a stair.” 

Lettice opened the window and let her long 
bright hair fall down the wall. The prince 
caught the hair and climbed into the tower. 

Lettice was frightened when she saw the 
prince. She had thought it was the witch 
singing. The prince spoke kindly and gently 
to her, and she soon lost all fear. 

The prince loved Lettice as soon as he saw 
her. He asked her to marry him and to tell 
him how he might get her out of the tower. 


56 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


“Bring me some strong silk cord,” said 
Lettice. “I will make a ladder of it and 
climb down to you.” 

The prince brought the strong silk cord, 
and Lettice made the ladder. When it was 
ready, the prince said, “ When it is dark this 
evening, I will come and take you away on 
my horse.” 

Lettice said she would be ready to go 
with him. But before evening the witch 
came. She was very angry. She cut off 
Lettice’ s beautiful, long hair, and carried 
her away into the wildest part of the forest. 
Then the witch went back to the tower and 
climbed into it by the silken ladder. 

When it was dark, the prince came. He 
stood under the window and sang: 

“Lettice, Lettice, let down your hair, 
That I may climb without a stair.” 

Then the witch let down poor Lettice’ s 
long hair, and the prince climbed up. But 
instead of his beautiful Lettice, he found 
only the ugly old witch. 


Queen Lettice of the Golden Hair. 57 

The witch looked at the prince with her 
sharp, angry eyes, and said: “Be careful. 
I will scratch your eyes out. Lettice is 
gone. You shall never see her again.” 

When the prince heard this, he thought 
Lettice was dead. He lost his mind, and 
jumped out at the window. The thorns 
scratched out his eyes, and he was blind. 

For a whole year, he wandered in the 
forest, weeping for his lost Lettice. At last 
he came to the place where the witch had 
left her. When Lettice saw the prince, she 
clapped her hands, and ran to meet him. 
But when she saw that he was blind, she 
wept bitterly. Two of her tears fell upon 
the prince’s eyes. Then he could see again. 

The prince and Lettice set out to find his 
father’s kingdom. The king was glad to see 
his son. He gave him a grand feast. The 
prince married Lettice. Her golden hair 
grew long again; and the people called her 
“Queen Lettice of the Golden Hair.” 


58 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


The Old Man and His Grandson* 

Once there was a very old man. His eyes 
were dim. His ears were dull. His knees 
trembled. When he sat at the table he 
could not hold his spoon still. He often 
spilled his food over the table-cloth. Some- 
times he spilled it on his clothes. 

His son and his daughter-in-law were 
vexed at this. They did not want him to 
soil the table-cloth. 

At last they made the old man sit in the 
corner, behind the stove. They gave him 
his food in an earthen dish. This made the 
poor old man sad. His eyes were often wet 
with tears. 

Once his hand trembled so he could not 
hold his dish, and it fell on the ground and 
broke in pieces. His daughter-in-law scolded 
him. But he did not say anything. He 
only sighed. 

Then they gave him a wooden dish. It 


The Old Man and His Grandson. 


59 


cost just two pennies. He had to eat out 
of this. 

One day he saw his little grandson at 
work, fitting together some pieces of wood. 

“What are you making?” asked the old 
man. 

“ I am making a wooden trough,” said the 
little boy. “Father and mother will feed 
out of it when I am big.” 

The man and his wife heard this. They 
looked at each other awhile and began to cry. 

After this they let the old grandfather sit 
at the table again. If he spilled anything, 
they did not scold him. 


60 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


The Twelve Windows. 

A king’s daughter had a room with twelve 
high windows in it. Three windows were 
toward the north. Three were toward the 
east. Three were toward the south. Three 
were toward the west. When the princess 
looked out of these windows, she could see 
more than any one else in the whole world. 

The princess was rich and very beautiful. 
But she was proud, and she cared for no one. 

She said she would marry no man who 
could not hide himself from her. 

Many tried to hide. No matter where 
they hid, the princess could look through 
one of her high windows and find them. 

She said to herself: “I shall never have 
to marry any one. I shall be free all my 
life.” 

One day a hunter saw the proud princess 
and loved her very much. The hunter was 
young and fair. He begged the princess to 


The Twelve Windows. 


61 


let him hide three times. The princess said 
he might do so. She felt sure she could 
find him every time. 

The hunter took his gun and went into 
the forest. He was trying to think of some 
place to hide in. 

As • he walked along he saw a raven in 
a tree. He raised his gun to shoot her. 
“Don’t kill me,” said the raven. “Some 
day I will repay your kindness.” 

The hunter came to a lake. Here he saw 
a large fish. He was about to shoot it. But 
the fish said, “Don’t shoot me. I will help 
you some day.” He left the fish to swim in 
the water and walked ^ i. 

Soon he saw a fox. was lame. 

“Kind hunter,” said fox, “please pull 
the thorn out of my foot. 

The hunter pulled the thorn out of the 
fox’s foot, and then he went home. 

Next day the hunter was to hide himself; 
but he could think of no place to hide in. 

He went to the raven. “I spared your 


62 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


life yesterday. Now tell me where to hide 
so the princess cannot find me,” he said to 
her. The raven broke one of her eggs and 
put the hunter into the shell. Then she 
put it back into her nest and sat upon it. 

The princess looked through her first 
window. She looked through the second 
window. She looked through the third ; but 
she could not find the hunter. Then she 
looked through the fourth window, and saw 
the egg in the raven’s nest. She had the 
egg brought to her, broke it, and pulled out 
the hunter. 

The princess laughed merrily. “I told 
you I could find you,” she said. 

Next day the hunter went to the fish 
and said: “I spared your life. Now hide 
me where the princess cannot find me.” 

“ I will,” said the fish. Then he swallowed 
the hunter and dived with him to the bottom 
of the lake. 

The princess looked through all her high 
windows till she came to the tenth. Then 


The Twelve Windows. 


63 


she saw the hunter. She had the tish 
caught and cut open. As the hunter crawled 
out of the fish, the princess laughed aloud. 

“You must hide better next time,” she said. 

Then the hunter’s heart was heavy with fear. 

The hunter went to the fox and said: “I 
helped you; now you must help me. You 
know where all the best hiding places are. 
Hide me where the princess cannot find me.” 

“I will,” said the fox. “ But you must do 
just as I tell you.” The fox jumped into a 
spring of water. When she came out, she 
was changed into a fish-seller. 

“Jump in as I did,” said the fish-seller. 
The hunter jumped into the spring. When 
he came out he was changed into a funny 
little water-mouse. 

The fish-seller put the water-mouse into a 
basket and went into the town. A great 
many people crowded around her to see the 
funny little mouse. 

When the princess heard of the mouse 
she sent to buy it. She did not know the 
mouse was the young hunter, 


64 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


“Creep into her long hair and lie still 
when she looks through her high windows 
for you,” whispered the fish-seller. 

The princess looked through all her win- 
dows. But she could not see the hunter 
anywhere. Then she was very angiy. 

As she was leaving the room she felt 
something in her hair. It was the mouse. 
“Get out of my sight,” she screamed, as she 
dashed the mouse to the floor. 

The fish-seller caught up the mouse and ran 
to the spring with it. They both jumped into 
the spring. When they came out they were 
a fox and a handsome young hunter, again. 

The hunter thanked the cunning fox and 
went back to the palace. 

The princess married the handsome young 
hunter; but she never knew where he had 
hid himself. She never knew that he had 
been changed into a mouse. 

She used to say, “He can do more than I 
can do, with all my high windows;” and 
she was very proud of him. 


The Palace of the Golden Path. 


65 


The Palace of the Golden Path. 


A fair young princess lived in a beautiful 
palace. The palace had a high wall around 
it. A golden path ran to the gate. From 
her window in the palace the princess could 
see any one who passed over this path. 

Three princes wished to marry the beauti- 
ful princess. Bach went to the palace tc 
try to win her. 

When the first prince reached the golden 
path he would not ride over it. He found 
another path and rode over that. The 
princess saw him leave the golden path and 
ride over another. Then she said, “He is 
thinking more of the gold than of me;” and 
she had him sent away. 

The second prince came to the golden 
path. He would not ride over the gold 
either. He left his horse and walked to the 
gate. The princess saw this and said, “He, 

5 


66 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


too, thinks more of the gold than of me;” 
and she had him sent away. 

The third prince came. He was thinking 
only of the beautiful princess. He did not 
see the gold on the path. He rode over the 
golden path, through the gate, and straight 
to the castle. 

When the princess saw this, she was glad. 
She said : “He loves me more than gold. 
When he thinks of me he cannot see the 
gold.” 

The princess loved him and married him, 
and they became the king and queen of The 
Palace of the Golden Path. 


The House in the Wood. 


67 


The House in the Wood* 


PART L 

A woodman lived near a large forest. He 
had a wife and two daughters. 

Every day the woodman went into the 
forest to cut wood. 

One morning he said: “Wife, let our older 
daughter bring my dinner to the forest to-day. 
I will take a bag of wheat with me and drop 
the grains in my path. Then she can easily 
find the way. 7 ! 

At noon the girl took her father 7 s dinner 
and started on her way into the forest. But 
the birds had eaten all the wheat grains, 
and she could not find her way. She went 
on and on, until night came down. The trees 
rustled in the darkness. The fire-flies 
danced, and the owls screamed. The girl 
was in a great fright. 

At last she came to a little hut. She 
knocked at the door, and a rough voice said, 


68 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


“Come in!” The girl opened the door and 
went in. A very old man was sitting by a 
table. His chin was resting on his hands. 
His long white beard fell to the door. By 
the little stove lay a spotted cow. A cock 
and a hen were roosting near. 

The girl told the old man she had lost 
her way, and she asked him if she might 
stay all night. The old man turned to his 
animals and said : 

“Little chicks and spotted cow, 

Shall we keep her here or no?” 

The animals said, “Yes.” Then the old 
man said, “You may stay if you will cook 
supper for us.” 

The girl cooked the supper and placed it 
on the table. Then she sat down by the 
old man and ate as fast as she could; for 
she was very hungry. 

When she had eaten all she wanted, she 
said: “1 am tired. Show me where I may 
sleep.” Then she heard the animals say: 


The House in the Wood. 


69 


“You can eat and drink, 

But you cannot think 
Of poor creatures such as we; 

You shall have a bed, 

Just to rest your head, 

But you don’t know where it will be.” 

But she did not listen to the animals. 

“Go upstairs,” said the old man. “There 
are two rooms there, and a bed in each 
room. Shake both beds well and make 
them nicely.” 

But the girl made only one bed. She lay 
down on this and went to sleep. 

When the old man came upstairs, his bed 
had not been touched. This made him 
angry. Then he opened a door in the. floor, 
and let the girl and her bed fall down into 
the cellar. 


PART II. 

When the woodman went home, he was 
very hungry ; and he was angry because he 
had had no dinner. His wife told him she 


70 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


had sent him his dinner. “Our daughter 
must have lost her way in the forest. If 
she does not come home soon, we must hunt 
for her,” said she. 

Next morning, the woodman said: “Send 
our younger daughter with my dinner to-day. 
I will drop peas along the way. Then she 
will not get lost as her sister did.” 

But the birds picked up the peas. So this 
little girl lost her way, too. 

When night came, it was very dark. The 
wind moaned. The trees rustled. The owls 
hooted. But the girl was not afraid. She 
was only unhappy because her father had 
been working all day without his dinner. 

Soon she came to the little house in the 
woods. She knocked at the door and the 
old man said, “Come in.” 

The girl went in. She spoke kindly to 
the old man and asked if she might stay all 
night. The man turned toward the animals 
and said: 


The House in the Wood. 


71 


“ Little chicks and spotted cow, 

Shall we keep her here or no?” 

They answered, “Yes.” And the girl 
stroked them gently. The old man asked 
her to cook the supper. 

When the supper was on the table, the girl 
said : “Please eat your supper, dear old man. 
I will feed the cow and fowls ; they must be 
hungry. I will eat when you have finished .’ 7 
Then she brought corn for the fowls, and a 
whole armful of sweet hay for the cow. She 
stroked them again and said, “Eat, dear 
creatures; I will bring you some fresh water.” 
When the animals were fed and watered, the 
girl sat down and ate what the old man 
had left. 

In a little while the fowls put their heads 
under their wings. The cow’s eyes began 
to close. 

The maiden asked, “Shall we not go to 
rest now?” 

Then the old man said: 



[ 72 ] 




The House in the Wood. 


73 


“Little chicks and spotted cow, 

Shall we let her sleep here now?” 

The animals answered quickly: 

“Yes; for she is very good; 

She has brought us drink and food.” 

The maiden went upstairs and made both 
the beds, as the old man had told her. 
Then she said her prayers and lay down to 
sleep. 

When the old man found his bed well 
made, he left the girl sleeping in peace. 


PART III. 

About midnight the girl was awakened. 
There was a fearful noise. The house was 
shaking. The walls were creaking and 
groaning. The doors were flying open. The 
stairs were turning up side down. But the 
girl was not hurt. It soon grew quiet, and 
she fell asleep again. 


74 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


Next morning she awoke and found her- 
self in a beautiful room. The walls were 
covered with silken curtains. The bed was 
made of pearls. The coverings were made 
of silk and velvet. By her bed lay a dress 
and a pair of slippers. The dress was made 
of silk. The slippers were covered with 
diamonds. Three servants came in and 
asked her what she wanted. “I thank 
you,” said the maiden, “I do not want any- 
thing. I must dress myself and get break- 
fast for the old man. I must feed the cow 
and the chickens, too.” 

When she came downstairs, she found a 
strange man asleep. He was young and 
very handsome. 

The young man opened his eyes and spoke 
to the girl. 

“Don’t go away,” he said. “I am a 
king’s son. A witch changed me into an 
old man. She changed my three servants 
into the cow, the cock, and the hen. She 
changed my castle into the little hut. She 


The House in the Wood. 


75 


said we should remain that way until a 
maiden should love the animals as if they 
were men.” 

Then the prince took the girl’s hand. 
He said: “Maiden, you are kind and gentle. 
You have broken the witch’s spell. I love 
you. Will you live here in this castle and 
be my wife?” 

The maiden loved the handsome young 
prince, and said she would be his wife. The 
prince freed the maiden’s lazy and unkind 
sister. He sent for her father and mother 
and made them rich. 

Everybody was happy when the prince 
married the woodman’s beautiful daughter. 



The Two Sisters. 


77 


The Two Sisters* 

A widow had two daughters. The older 
daughter was ugly and idle; but the mother 
loved this one better than the other, who 
did all the work. 

One day the younger sister had spun so 
much that her fingers bled upon the spindle. 
She ran to the well to wash the spindle ; but 
the spindle slipped and fell into the water. 
She was sorry and told her mother. Her 
mother said: “Well, you must go down into 
the well and get it. I shall not buy you 
another. 77 

The girl tried to climb down the well ; but 
her foot slipped and she fell in. She was so 
badly hurt that she lost her senses. When 
she awoke, she was in a beautiful meadow. 
The sun was shining brightly. The flowers 
were blooming all about her. 

As she walked through the meadow, she 
saw a large baker’s oven. It was full of 


78 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


new bread. The loaves cried, “Pull us out, 
pull us out, or we shall burn ! ” She went 
to the oven and quickly took them out. 

When she had gone a little farther, she 
came to an apple tree. ‘ ‘Shake me, shake me, ’ ’ 
cried the tree, “for my apples are all ripe.” 
She shook the tree until all its apples fell off. 
Then she placed the apples in a heap. 

Soon the girl came to a neat little house. 
At the window sat an old woman. Her 
teeth were so long and her eyes so keen that 
the girl was frightened. 

“What are you afraid of, my child?” said 
the old woman. “Come and stay with me. 
I will make you very happy, but you must 
help me work.” 

When the girl went in, the old woman 
said: “I am Motl^r Holle. When you make 
up my beds, you must shake them till the 
feathers fly about. Then the people will 
say it snows.” 

The girl stayed many days with Mother 
Holle. She shook the beds till the feathers 


The Two Sisters. 


79 


flew down like snow-flakes. This pleased 
Mother Holle. 

Mother Holle was very kind to the girl; 
but, by and by, she began to wish to go 
home. When she told Mother Holle, the 
old woman said: “ You have been good and 
worked well for me. I will show you the way.” 

The old woman led the way to a little 
gate. As the girl passed through the gate 
a shower of gold fell softly upon her. She 
stood clothed, from head to foot, in pure gold. 
Then Mother Holle gave the maiden her 
spindle and bade her good-bye. 

The girl soon found herself at her mother’s 
house. As she went in, the cock on the wall 
crowed loudly: “ Ki-ki-ri-ki-i ! Our golden 
lady has come home! ” 

The mother saw her daughter’s golden dress, 
and was very glad. The daughter told her 
mother all that had happened. Then the 
mother wanted her older daughter to find 
Mother Holle, and to come back dressed in 
gold. 


80 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


So the older sister took the spindle and 
dropped it into the water. Then she fell 
down into the well, as her sister had done. 
When she awoke, she was in the meadow 
full of flowers. 

She came to the oven of bread, and the 
loaves cried, “Pull us out, pull us out! 
We are burning. ” But she answered, “I 
shall not soil my hands with your dirty 
oven.” 

When she came to the appletree, it said : 
“Shake me, shake me! My apples are all 
ripe.” “ I will not,” she said. “An apple 
might hit me on the head.” 

At last she came to Mother Holle’ s house. 
She offered to work for her, and Mother Holle 
took her in. But she was too lazy. The 
beds were never made, and no feathers flew 
about. Then Mother Holle told her she 
must go away. 

The girl was glad that she might go. She 
thought the shower of gold would now fall 
upon her, as it had fallen upon her sister. 


The Two Sisters. 


81 


But as she passed through the gate, a 
bucketful of pitch fell upon her. 

When she got home, the cock upon the wall 
flapped his wings and crowed, “ Ki-ki-ri-ki-i ! 
Our smutty lady has come home . 77 

The pitch clung to her hair and clothes, 
and she was never able to get it off. 


6 


82 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


The Enchanted Stag. 


A little brother and sister loved each 
other dearly. But they had a wicked step- 
mother, and were unhappy. 

Their step-mother scolded them and 
whipped them cruelly every day. She gave 
them nothing to eat but bread and water. 

One day the little boy took his sister’s 
hand and said to her: “Come, little sister, 
let us go away. Let us go out into the 
wide world.” So they left their home, and 
went away, alone, into the great world. 

They walked on and on and far away, 
until, late in the evening, they came to a 
large forest. 

They were very tired ; so they crept into 
a hollow tree and slept' there till morning. 

When they awoke they were hungry and 
thirsty. They heard the sound of a little 
brook, and ran eagerly toward it. 


The Enchanted Stag. 


83 


The little boy stooped to drink. But his 
sister heard the water say : 

“Who drinks of me 
A wolf shall be.” 

“Stop, brother!” she cried, “or you will 
be turned into a wolf, and will eat me.” 

“Well, I will wait till I find a spring,” 
said the boy. 

But when they found a spring, the little 
girl heard the water say: 

“Whoever drinks of me 
A tiger soon shall be.” 

Then she held back her brother and said : 
“Oh, don’t drink! If you do, you will be 
turned into a tiger. Then you will tear me 
to pieces.” 

So they went farther and tried to find 
another stream. Soon they found one, clear 
and bright. The sister listened, and heard 
it say: 

“Who drinks of me 
A stag shall be,” 


84 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


“Don’t, brother!” she said. But he had 
already begun to drink and was turned into 
a young stag. 

Their step-mother, who was a wicked 
witch, had enchanted all the water in that 
part of the forest. 

The sister wept when she saw her brother 
changed into a stag. But he did not leave 
her. He ran gaily by her side. 

Then she took off her little golden garter 
and put it around the stag’s neck for a col- 
lar. To this she fastened a string made of 
rushes, with which she led the stag wherever 
she went. 

They wandered in the forest until it was 
nearly night. At last they found a little 
old hut and went into it. 

The little girl found some nuts and berries 
for herself. For the stag she found some 
fresh grass. She made her brother and 
herself a bed of dried grass and leaves. 
Then she said her prayers and lay down 
close beside her brother, the stag. 


The Enchanted Stag. 


85 


They lived here, all alone, till the girl had 
grown to be a tall and lovely maiden. The 
stag also grew larger and more handsome. 

One day the king was hunting in the 
forest. He saw the stag and started after 
him. But before the king could catch the 
stag, he saw him run to the door of the hut 
and say: 

“ Sister, sister, let me in.” 

Then the maiden opened the door and let 
the stag in. 

Next day the king came again. He 
watched the hut until he saw the stag leave 
and go into the forest. Then he ran to the 
door of the hut and said : 

“ Sister, sister, let me in.” 

When the maiden opened the door, there 
was no stag there; but she saw a tall 
and noble stranger. She was very much 
frightened. 

The king saw she was beautiful — more 
beautiful than any maiden he had ever seen. 


86 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


So he spoke kindly to her and asked her to 
go with him and become his wife and queen. 

The maiden promised to go with him, if 
she might take the stag, too. 

“He may go and stay with us always,” 
said the king. 

So the maiden called the stag. She led 
him by his golden collar, and they went 
away with the king to his grand castle. 

When their wicked step-mother heard that 
the stag was still alive and that the little 
girl had become queen of the country, she 
was very angry. She went to the castle 
and tried to kill the stag and the queen. 
But the king learned that she was a wicked 
witch, and he had her burned. 

Soon the wicked step-mother was dead. 
Her body was only a pile of ashes. 

Then the stag was changed to a handsome 
young man again. The king loved him 
almost as much as he loved the queen ; and 
they all lived happily together for many 
years. 


The Gold-Spinner. 


87 


The Gold-Spinner. 


PART I. 

A poor miller wished his beautiful daugh- 
ter to live in the king’s palace. 

One day he went to the king and said: 
“My daughter can spin straw into gold.” 

The king liked this, and he said, “Bring 
her to me.”' 

When the maiden came to the castle, the 
king led her into a room filled with straw. 
“Here is a spinning-wheel,” he said. “Spin 
all this straw into gold. If it is not done 
before sunrise, you shall die.” Then the 
king locked the door and left the maiden 
alone. 

The poor girl began to weep. She could 
not spin straw into gold; nor did she know 
how to spin at all. 

As she sat weeping, the door opened, and 
a little old man hobbled in. 


88 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


“Young daughter of the miller, why do 
you weep?” said the dwarf. 

“The king wants me to spin straw into 
gold,” said the girl. “I cannot do it, and I 
must die at sunrise.” 

“What will you give me to spin it for 
you?” asked the dwarf. 

The girl replied, “I will give you this rib- 
bon which I wear around my neck.” 

The dwarf took the ribbon and began to 
spin. The wheel went round three times; 
“whir-r, whir-r, whir-r-r.” The first spool 
was full of gold. 

He spun all night. By sunrise the straw 
was all spun into gold. Then he went away. 

When the king came he was glad to see 
so much gold. He led the girl into another 
room full of straw. “You must have this 
straw spun into gold by sunrise to-morrow,” 
he said. Then he left her. 

The dwarf came and found the maiden 
weeping again. He asked her what she 
would give him to spin the straw into gold 


The Gold-Spinner. 89 

this time. The girl said she would give him 
her ring. 

The dwarf took the ring and spun all 
night. When the straw was all turned into 
gold he went away. 

Again the king was glad to lind all the 
straw turned into gold. But he said : 
“Here is another room full of straw. Spin 
for me once more. Turn this straw into 
gold. Then you shall be my wife and 
queen ; for you have made me very 
rich.” 

When the king was gone the dwarf came 
again. He said, “What will you give me, 
if I spin the straw for you one time more?” 

The girl said, “I have nothing more to 
give you.” 

“Then promise me that when you are 
queen you will give me your first child,” 
said the dwarf. 

The girl knew no one else could help her; 
so she promised what the dwarf asked. 

Once more the little man spun the straw 



[ 90 ] 



The Gold-Spinner. 91 

into gold. Then he went away, as he had 
done before. 

When the king came and saw all the gold, 
he loved the maiden and married her. 

So the miller’s beautiful daughter was 
queen of the land, and the king called her 
his Gold-Spinner. 


PART II. 

About a year after this, the queen had a 
little son. 

One night the dwarf came to the queen 
and said, “Give me the child, as you 
promised to do.” 

The poor queen clasped the child to her 
bosom and wept. 

The dwarf said, “I will wait three days. 
If you guess my name before the three days 
are out, you may keep the child.” 

When the dwarf came the next night the 
queen guessed every name she could think 
of; but not one of them was right. 


92 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


Then the queen asked all the people to 
help her. When the dwarf came again the 
queen guessed all the names the people 
could think of; but they were all wrong. 

Now, the queen had sent a man through- 
out the land, to find the names of all the 
people who were dead. 

As this man was crossing the mountains 
he came to a little hut hid among the trees. 
He peeped into the hut. A big lire was on 
the hearth, and a funny little man was hop- 
ping about on one leg. His wooden leg was 
lying on the floor. 

As the dwarf hopped about, ‘he sang : 

“ To-day I brew, to-morrow I bake, 

And I shall then the queen’s child take; 
How glad I am she does not know, 

That my name is Timber-toe.” 

The man ran home and told the queen 
what he had seen and heard. 

The queen thanked the man, and gave 
him many rich presents. 


The Gold-Spinner. 


93 


When the dwarf came the last time and 
said, “Now give me the child , 7 7 the woman 
cried: “Stop! I know your name. It is 
Timber-toe . 77 

“The fairies must have told you that ! 77 
screamed the dwarf. Then he went hopping 
off with his wooden leg, and was never seen 
again. 


94 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


The Three Feathers* 


A king had three sons. Two of them 
were thought to be wise. But the youngest 
was thought to be very silly. He was called 
Simple. 

The old king did not know to which of 
his sons he would leave his kingdom. So he 
said, “He who brings me the finest carpet 
shall have the kingdom.” 

Then each of the brothers took a feather 
and blew it into the air. They said, “Each 
of us will go the way his feather goes.” 

One of the feathers fiew east. Another 
Hew west. But Simple’s feather fell to the 
ground and lay there. 

The older brothers laughed at Simple. 
Then each of them started off the way his 
feather had gone. 

Poor Simple sat down where his feather 
had fallen. As he looked at the ground, he 
saw a little door. 


The Three Feathers. 


95 


He raised the door and saw some steps 
leading down into the earth. He went 
down the steps and came to another 
door. 

Simple knocked loudly at this door. Then 
he heard a voice singing : 

“Little frogs, crooked legs, 

Where do you hide ? 

Go and see quickly 
Who is outside.” 

The door opened, and Simple looked in. 
He saw an old frog with a great many little 
frogs sitting around her. 

The old frog asked Simple what he wanted. 
Simple said, “ I am looking for the finest and 
most beautiful carpet in the world.” 

The old frog called to her little ones : 

“Litttle frogs, crooked legs, 

Run here and there, 

Bring me the large bag 
That hangs on the chair,” 


96 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


The little frogs brought her the bag. She 
took from it a carpet so fine and so beautiful 
there was never another like it. 

The old frog gave the carpet to Simple. 
He thanked her very politely and went up 
the steps. 

The older brothers soon came back with 
their carpets. They had not tried to find 
very fine ones; for they thought Simple 
would not have a carpet of any kind. 

When they saw Simple’s wonderful carpet, 
they were angry. They begged their father 
to let them all try again. 

“Well,” said the king, “whoever brings 
me the most beautiful lady, as his wife, shall 
have the kingdom.” 

The brothers blew their feathers, as before. 
Simple’s feather fell to the ground again. 

His brothers laughed at him, and started 
off again after their feathers; one to the 
east, and one to the west. 

“Simple is such a dunce, no woman will 
look at him,” they said one to another. 


i 


The Three Feathers. 


97 


When his brothers were out of sight, 
Simple opened the door and went down the 
steps again. 

“This time, I want to find the most 
beautiful lady in the world, to be my wife,” 
he said to the old frog. 

“Hey-day!” said the frog. “I haven’t • 
one by me just now; but you shall soon 
have one.” 

The old frog hollowed out a turnip and 
gave it to Simple. Then she caught four 
mice and tied them to the turnip. 

“But what am I to do with these things?” 
said Simple. 

“ Put one of my little frogs into the turnip,” 
said the old frog. 

Simple caught one of the little frogs and 
put it into the hollow turnip. Then, what 
do you think? The little frog became a 
most beautiful and charming young lady. 
The mice became splendid horses. The 
turnip became a grand carriage. 

Simple kissed the lady and seated himself 


98 Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 

beside her. He drove to the castle and led 
the lady to his father. 

Simple’s brothers were at the castle with 
their wives. But these women were coarse 
and ugly. 

The king said: “Simple shall have my 
kingdom; for he has brought me the most 
beautiful maiden I ever saw.” 

The older brothers were very angry and 
begged for one more trial. 

“What do you wish?” asked the king. 

“Let a large ring be hung in the hall. 
Let each maiden try to jump through it. 
The son whose wife can jump through the 
ring shall have the kingdom,” said the 
oldest brother. He thought the delicate 
little lady that Simple had brought would 
fall and kill herself. 

The ring was hung in the hall. The 
coarse girls both jumped. Neither of them 
could jump through the ring. But Simple’s 
beautiful lady sprang through it like a deer. 

Then the old king said: “You shall try no 


The Three Feathers. 


99 


more. I give my kingdom to my youngest 
son and his beautiful bride.” 

After the king’s death, Simple and his 
beautiful queen ruled the kingdom wisely. 

The young queen’s mother and sisters 
were changed into lovely ladies, as they had 
been before. Then they came and lived 
happily with king Simple for many years. 


100 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


The King of the Forest. 


PART L 

A wicked witch shut up a prince in an 
iron chest. Then she carried the chest into 
the forest and left it there. 

Years rolled by, but no one came to the 
chest to set the prince free. 

At last a princess who had lost her way 
in the forest came upon the chest. 

As the princess stopped to look at the 
chest, she heard a voice from the inside. 
The voice said, “Where do you come from? 
What do you want here?” 

“I have lost my way in the forest,” said 
the princess. “I cannot find the road to 
my father’s kingdom.” 

Then the voice said, “I will tell you how 
to find the way. But you must promise to 
do as I bid you ; and when I am free, you 
shall be my wife.” 


The King of the Forest. 


101 


The princess was frightened. But she 
wanted to know the way home; so she 
promised to obey the voice. 

“Then, come here to-morrow/’ said the 
voice. “Bring a knife with you, scrape a 
hole in the chest and set me free.” 

Then the voice told the princess how to 
reach her father’s kingdom. 

The princess found her way home. She 
told her father ■ of the man in the iron 
chest. “I have promised to let him out,” 
she said, “and he says I must marry him 
then.” 

The king did not know who it was in the 
chest, and lie did not wish his daughter to 
marry him. So he sent the miller’s daugh- 
ter to make a hole in the chest. Then he 
sent the swine-herd’s daughter. But neither 
of them could make the hole. Then the 
prince in the chest was angry, and said he 
would shake the king’s palace down, if the 
princess did not come and let him out. 

At last the king sent his daughter. She 


102 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


bade her father and mother good-bye, and 
went away weeping. 

The princess came to the chest, and began 
to scrape on it with a knife. She scraped 
all night. When morning came, she had 
scraped a small hole in the chest. She 
peeped in and saw a handsome young man. 
His dress was covered with jewels. When 
the princess saw him, she worked more 
rapidly, and the hole was 'soon large enough 
for the prince to spring out. 

He was so handsome and so gentle that 
the princess loved him at once. 

“You have broken the spell of the witch. 
You have set me free,” cried the prince. 
“You shall be my wife, for I am the son of 
a great king.” 

He wished to carry her, at once, to his 
father’s kingdom. But the princess wished 
to go and bid farewell to her father and 
mother. 

At last the prince consented. “But,” 
said he, “you must not speak more than 


The King of the Forest. 


103 


three words. ” The princess promised to 
obey the prince. Yet she forgot her promise, 
and talked very fast until it was time to 
return to the prince in the forest. 


PART II. 

When the princess returned to the forest, 
she could find neither the iron chest nor the 
prince. 

She looked for them a long time, until 
she was tired and hungry. At night she 
climbed into a high tree, where she might 
be safe from the wild beasts of the forest. 

As she sat in the high tree thinking of 
the prince, she saw a bright light. 

She climbed down and went toward the 
light, and found it was shining through the 
windows of a small hut. 

The princess peeped into the hut. In 
the middle of the room was a table covered 
with rich food in gold and silver dishes. 
On the floor were frogs of all sizes. 


104 Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 

The princess knocked at the door of the 
hut and heard a frog say, “Go quickly and 
see who is at the door.” A little frog opened 
the door and welcomed the princess. 

The frogs gave the princess a seat at the 
table, and waited upon her while she ate. 

The princess told the frogs of the prince 
she had lost. “But,” she said, “I will 
seek him all over the world. I will seek 
him until I find him.” 

“I will help you, dear Princess,” said the 
old frog. 

The princess slept in the hut that night. 
Next morning the old frog gave her three 
large needles, a plow point, a cockle shell, 
and three small walnuts. 

“Dear Princess,” said the old frog, “you 
must climb a high glass mountain, with 
three snowy peaks. Then you must cross a 
great lake. Beyond the lake, you will find 
the prince’s castle.” 

The princess set out and came to the glass 
mountain. She put the needles into the 
soles of her shoes and climbed it with ease. 


The King of the Forest. 


105 


The plow point helped her to cross the snowy 
peaks. She crossed the lake in the cockle 
shell. At last, she came to the castle, and 
hired herself as a servant. 

The prince was about to marry a beautiful 
lady, and the nights were spent in feasting 
and dancing. 

The first night, the princess broke open 
one of her walnuts. From it she drew a 
dress that looked like the frost as it lies on 
the bright autumn leaves. No one in the 
ball-room was half so lovely as was the 
princess in this lovely dress. Not even the 
prince knew who she was, but he danced 
with her often. 

The second night, the princess broke open 
another walnut. In this one was a dress that 
looked like snow with the sun shining upon it. 

The princess danced again with the prince ; 
and he wondered who this beautiful, shining 
maiden could be. 

The third night, the princess broke the 
last of her walnuts. From it she took a 
dress that gleamed and sparkled like the 


106 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


sunshine upon thousands of dew-drops woven 
in silken spider webs. 

As she danced with the prince this time, 
the princess whispered, “Have you forgotten 
the iron chest and the king’s daughter who 
set you free?” 

Then the prince knew her. “You are my 
own beloved princess!” he cried. “How 
happy I am!” 

As they traveled towards her father’s king- 
dom, they passed through the forest. Where 
the frogs’ hut had been, was a beautiful 
palace. Lovely ladies came to welcome 
them. These ladies told the princess they 
had been frogs, under the spell of a witch. 
The old frog who had helped the princess 
was now the queen of the forest. The little 
frogs were her maidens and servants. 

The prince and the princess stayed with 
the queen, who made them a great feast. 
The prince married the princess. When the 
queen died, the prince became King of the 
Forest, and the beautiful princess was his 
queen. 




, Where the bee sucks, there suck I 
In a cowslip’s bell I lie; 

There I couch when owls do cry. 
On the bat’s back I do fly ^ 
> After summer merrily. 

*A Merrily, merrily shall I live now 
?3 Under the blossom that hangs 
on the bough. ^ 


[ 107 ] 




108 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


Briar-Rose* 


PART L 

Long ago a little girl was born, the 
daughter of a great king and his queen. 

She was an only child, and the king was 
so full of joy that he gave a great feast to 
which he invited his kinsfolk, his friends, 
and all the people in his kingdom. 

He also invited the wise old women who 
are kind to children. There were thirteen 
of these wise old women. But the king had 
only twelve golden plates for them to eat 
from. So one had to stay at home. 

When the feast was over, the wise women 
gave the child their wonderful gifts. One 
gave her beauty. Another gave her riches. 
A third gave her health. A fourth made 
her good and kind. A fifth gave her a voice 
like that of the murmuring waters and sing- 
ing birds. A sixth taught her to dance like 
the fairies. A seventh made her modest 


Briar-Rose. 


109 


and gentle. An eighth made her cheerful 
and happy. The ninth gave her friends. 
The tenth gave her wisdom. The eleventh 
gave her love. 

Just then the thirteenth old woman rushed 
in. She was angry because she had to stay 
at home. “On her fifteenth birthday, she 
shall prick her finger with a spindle and 
die,” she screamed. Then she turned her 
back and left the hall. 

Everybody was frightened. But the twelfth 
old woman had not yet made her gift. She 
could not wholly take away the evil wish. 
But she said: “She shall not die. She shall 
only fall asleep and sleep a hundred years.” 

The king heard this, and he commanded 
all the spindles in his kingdom to be burnt, 
Then he thought his little daughter was safe. 

On her fifteenth birthday, the princess 
was alone in the castle. The king and 
queen had gone away into the country. 

The princess wandered from room to room. 
At last she came to an old tower, with a 


110 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


winding stair. She tripped up the stair 
till she came to a little door. In the lock 
was a rusty key. She turned the key, and 
the door sprang open. In the room sat an 
old woman, spinning flax on a spindle. 

“Good day, my good old lady,” said the 
princess. “What are you doing here?” 

“I am spinning,” said the old woman. 

“And what is this funny little thing that 
hums so merrily?” asked the princess, as 
she touched the spindle. But the spindle 
pricked her finger, and she fell back upon 
the bed, asleep. 

The king and queen, who had just come 
home, fell asleep upon their thrones in the 
hall. The people about them fell asleep in 
their chairs. The horses in the stable ceased 
to eat. The doves upon the eaves put their 
heads under their wings and shut their eyes. 
The flies stood still upon the walls. The 
fire upon the hearth slept. The meat on 
the spit ceased to roast. The cook let loose 
the hair of the kitchen-boy; and they both 


Briar-Rose. 


Ill 


began to snore. The wind rested. Not a 
leaf stirred on the trees in the castle yard. 

Now a hedge of briars and thorns began 
to grow up around the castle. They sprang 
higher and higher, till the castle was hid, 
and not even the flag on the tower could 
be seen. 


PART II. 

And so the years went by. Soon the 
people in the kingdom began to talk of the 
beautiful maiden asleep in the castle. Some- 
times they called her Briar-Rose; sometimes 
Sleeping Beauty. Everybody had heard how 
fair and beautiful she was. 

From time to time princes came and tried 
to reach the castle. But the thorns caught 
them and held them fast till they died. 

After many years, another prince came to 
the country, more handsome than all the 
rest. He heard an old man tell the story of 
the hedge of briars and of the beautiful 
Briar-Rose, He also heard how the princes 



[ 112 ] 


♦ 









Briar-Rose. 


113 


who had come before him had died in the 
thorns. But he said: “I am not afraid. 
I will see this hedge of briars. I will find 
the castle.” 

The hundred years were now at an end. 
The last day had come. The prince started 
to the castle. As he came to the hedge, the 
thorns turned to beautiful flowers. These 
parted and made a path before him. Behind 
him, they closed up again, like a wall. 

The prince passed through the yard and 
the hall. He found everything asleep. It 
was so still he could hear himself breathe. 
There was no sound but the snoring of the 
cook and the kitchen-boy. 

At last he came to the tower. He went 
up the winding stair till he came to the 
little door. The door stood open just as it 
had been left a hundred years ago. The 
prince went into the room, and found Briar- 
Rose asleep upon the bed. She was so 
beautiful the prince could not turn his eyes 

away from her; so he bent down over her 
8 


114 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


and kissed her. Just as he touched her 
lips her eyes began to open. Then she 
awoke and greeted him with a smile. 

The king and the queen upon their thrones 
rubbed their eyes. The people on the chairs 
in the hall yawned and stood up. The 
horses in the stable shook themselves. The 
dogs wagged their tails. The doves upon 
the eaves drew their heads from under their 
wings; then they cooed and flew in circles 
over the castle. The flies began to crawl on 
the walls. The fire burnt brightly upon the 
hearth and cooked the meat. The cook gave 
his lad a box upon the ear. 

The hundred years of sleep had made no 
change in any one. The people only won- 
dered why they had not gone to bed. 

By-and-by, the prince married the beauti- 
ful Briar-Rose; and they became king and 
queen of Thorn-Hedge Castle, and their 
people loved them well. 

Who was the Princess? Who was the 
Prince? What was the hundred years. 


But for still music, we will keep 

The wren and titmouse, which to 
sleep 

Shall sing the bride when she’s 
alone, 

The rest unto their chambers gone; 

And like those upon ropes that 
walk 

On gossamer from stalk to stalk, 

The tripping fairy tricks shall play 

The evening of the wedding day. 





[ 115 ] 


116 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


Cinderella, the Little Ash-Girl* 


PART L 

A little girl’s mother lay dying. She 
called her daughter to her and said : 

“Dear child, I am dying. Be a good girl. 
God will care for you. I will look down 
from heaven and think of you.” 

Every day the little girl went to her 
mother’s grave and wept. She never forgot 
her mother’s words. 

The winter came and put a white sheet 
over the grave. The spring came, took away 
the white sheet, and covered the grave with 
blue violets. Then the little girl’s father 
took another wife. 

This new wife had two daughters. Their 
faces were beautiful, but their hearts were 
ugly and bad. 

None of them loved the good little girl. 
They took away her tine clothes, and gave 


Cinderella, the Little Ash-Girl. 117 

her a coarse gray dress. Then they laughed 
at her and sent her to the kitchen. 

Here she had to work all day. She got 
up before it was light. She brought water. 
She made fires. She cooked and washed 
dishes. 

The proud girls mocked at her. They 
threw peas and beans into the ashes and 
made her pick them out again. At night 
they gave her no bed to lie on, but she lay 
on the hearth, in the ashes. Then the 
proud girls called her Cinderella, the Little 
Ash-Girl. 

One day Cinderella’s father went to the 
fair. He asked the proud girls what he 
should bring them. 

“Fine dresses,” said one. 

“Diamonds and pearls,” said the other. 

“And what shall I bring you, Cinderella?” 
asked the man. 

“The first twig that strikes against your 
hat. Break it off and bring it to me,” she 
said. 


118 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


The man bought the fine clothes, the 
diamonds, and the pearls for the proud girls. 

As he came home, a hazel twig brushed 
his hat. He broke the twig and took it to 
Cinderella. 

Cinderella thanked her father for the hazel 
switch. She planted it on her mother’s 
grave. She watered it with her tears, and 
it grew to a beautiful tree. 

Three times every day Cinderella went to 
the tree and prayed. Each time a little 
white bird sat on the tree. When she 
wished for anything, the little bird threw it 
down to her. 

PART IL 

Now the king was to give a great ball. 
It was to last three days. All the beautiful 
maidens in the land were invited, so the 
prince might choose him a bride. 

The two proud girls were glad. They said 
to Cinderella: 

‘ ‘ Comb our hair ! Brush our shoes ! Fasten 
our buckles! We are going to the ball!” 


Cinderella, the Little Ash-Girl. 119 

Cinderella obeyed, but she wept. For 

she, too, wished to go to the ball. 

She asked her step-mother if she might go. 

“What!” cried her step-mother. “You 
go to the ball! You are all covered with 
dust and ashes! You have no dress! How 
can you dance without shoes?” But at last 
she said: “I have thrown a dishful of corn 
into the ashes. Pick it all out in two hours, 
and you may go.” 

Then Cinderella went into the garden and 
called : 

“Little pigeons, turtle-doves, 

All birds in the sky, 

All whom Cinderella loves, 

Hear me; hither fly. 

Good grains shall be for me, 

Bad grains for you shall be.” 

First two little white pigeons flew in at 
the window. After them came the turtle- 
doves. Then all kinds of birds came, until 
the kitchen was filled with them. 

The little pigeons nodded their heads and 


120 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


began — pick, pick-pick, pick-pick. Then all 
the other birds began — pick, pick-pick ; and 
in one hour all the corn was in the dish. 
Then the little birds flew out at the window 
and away into the sky again. 

Cinderella carried the dish of corn to her 
step-mother, and asked if she might go to 
the ball now. 

But her step-mother said: “No, Cin- 
derella! You cannot go. You have no 
dress, and you cannot dance.” 

But when Cinderella cried, her step-mother 
said: “I will throw two dishfuls of corn into 
the ashes. Pick it all out in one hour, and 
you may go.” 

Then Cinderella went into the garden and 
called : 

“Little pigeons, turtle-doves, 

All birds in the sky, 

All whom Cinderella loves, 

Hear me ; hither fly. 

Good grains shall be for me, 

Bad grains for you shall be.” 



Listening to the Nightingale 

[ 121 ] 


122 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


First the two little pigeons flew in at the 
window. After them came the turtle doves. 
Then followed the birds of all kinds, until 
the kitchen was filled with them. 

The little pigeons nodded their heads and 
began — pick, pick-pick, pick-pick. Then all 
the other birds began — pick, pick-pick. And 
before a half-hour was gone, the corn was in 
the dishes, and the birds had flown away. 

Cinderella took the corn to the step-mother. 
But she said : “It does not help you a bit. 
You cannot go with us. You have no clothes. 
You cannot dance. We should be ashamed 
of you.” 

Then she turned her back on Cinderella, 
and went away with her two proud daughters. 


PART in. 

Now Cinderella was left alone. She went 
to her mother’s grave, under the hazel tree, 
and sang: 

“ Rustle, rustle, little tree, 

Silver and gold throw down to me.” 


Cinderella, the Little Ash-Girl. 123 

Then the little white bird threw down a 
dress of gold and silver. It threw down 
silken slippers with silver buckles. 

Cinderella put on the dress and slippers 
and went to the ball. Her step-mother and 
her proud sisters did not know her. She 
was so beautiful they thought she was some 
fine princess. 

She was the most beautiful maiden at the 
ball. The prince would dance with no 
other. 

When evening came, the prince wished to 
go home with Cinderella; but she slipped 
out at the door and ran away from him. 
She ran to her mother’s grave and took off 
her fine clothes. The little bird took them, 
and gave her back her coarse gray dress. 
Cinderella put on the old dress and went 
home. When her step-mother and the proud 
sisters came home, she was asleep in the 
ashes. 

The next day, the step-mother and her 
daughters went to the ball again. When 


124 Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 

they were gone, Cinderella went to the hazel 
tree and sang: 

“Rustle, rustle, little tree, 

Silver and gold throw down to me/’ 

The little white bird threw down for her 
a dress more beautiful than the first one. 
Cinderella put it on and went to the ball. 
Everybody stared at her and wondered who 
the beautiful princess could be. The prince 
took her hand and danced with her all the 
evening. When she went away, the prince 
wished to follow her; but she ran into the 
garden, and he could not find her. Then 
she went to the hazel tree and put on her 
coarse dress again. The bird took the ball 
dress and carried it away. 

When the step-mother and her proud 
daughters came home, Cinderella was fast 
asleep in the ashes. 

The third day, Cinderella went to the 
hazel tree and sang: 

“Rustle, rustle, little tree, 

Silver and gold throw down to me.” 


Cinderella, the Little Ash-Girl. 125 

This time the bird threw down the most 
beautiful dress that was ever seen. The 
slippers were of pure gold. 

Cinderella wore the dress and slippers to 
the ball. Everybody was dumb with won- 
der. They had never seen a maiden so 
beautiful. The prince danced with her till 
the ball was over. He would not look at 
any one else. 

When midnight had come, the prince tried 
again to go home with the beautiful maiden. 
But again she ran away from him. As she 
ran, she lost one of her slippers. 


PART IV. 

Next morning the prince went, with the 
slipper, to Cinderella’s father. “I will marry 
no one but the maiden who can wear this 
little golden shoe,” he said. 

Now the proud sisters were glad. For 
they had beautiful feet. They thought they 
could wear the slipper. 


126 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


The older sister took the shoe to her room, 
to put it on. But she could not get her big 
toe in. Then her mother gave her a knife 
and said: “Cut off the toe. When you are 
queen, you will not need to walk.” 

The maiden cut off her toe and squeezed 
her foot into the shoe. This gave her great 
pain; but she bit her lips and went down 
to the prince. 

The prince took her on his horse and rode 
away with her. As they rode by the grave, 
two white pigeons were sitting on the hazel 
tree. They nodded their heads and sang : 

“At your side, at your side, 

There is blood in the shoe. 

Backward ride, backward ride, 

She’s not your bride. Coo, coo-oo.” 

The prince looked at the shoe and saw 
blood on it. Then he turned his horse and 
took the maiden back to her mother. 

“She is not the right one,” he said. 
“Her sister shall try the shoe,” 


Cinderella, the Little Ash-Girl. 127 

The younger sister took the shoe to her 
room. She put her toes in easily, but her 
heel was too large. 

Her mother gave her a knife and said: 
“Cut a piece off your heel. When you are 
queen, you will not need to walk.” 

The maiden cut a piece off her heel, and 
pressed her foot into the shoe. She bit her 
lips to hide the pain, and went down to the 
prince. 

The prince took her on his horse and rode 
away with her. 

As they passed under the hazel tree, the 
two white doves were there again. They 
nodded their heads and sang : 

“At your side, at your side, 

There is blood in the shoe. 

Backward ride, backward ride, 

She’s not your bride. Coo, coo-oo.” 

The prince looked at the shoe and saw 
the blood trickling over it. Then he turned 
his horse and took the maiden home, 




[ 128 ] 





Cinderella, the Little Ash-Girl. 


129 


“She is not the right one, either/’ said he. 
“Haven’t you another daughter?” 

“No,” said the father. “None but a 
little ash-girl, the daughter of my dead wife. 
You would not marry her.” 

“Let her come and try the shoe,” said 
the prince. 

“Oh, no!” cried the step-mother. “She 
is too dirty. You must not see her.” But 
the prince said she must be called. So 
Cinderella was called. 

She washed her face and hands and combed 
her hair. Then she went and bowed to the 
prince. 

The prince gave Cinderella the golden 
slipper. She sat down on a little stool and 
pulled off her heavy wooden shoe. Then 
she put on the little slipper, which just 
fitted her. 

The prince looked into her face and knew 
she was the maiden with whom he had 
danced at the ball. Then he said: “She 
shall be my bride. I will marry no other.” 

9 


130 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


The two proud sisters and their mother 
were white with rage. But the king’s son 
took the little ash-girl on his horse and rode 
away with her. 

As they came under the hazel tree, the 
two white pigeons cooed and sang: 

“At your side, at your side, 

There’s no blood in the shoe. 

Homeward ride, homeward ride, 

She’ll be your bride. Coo, coo-oo, coo.” 

Then both pigeons Hew down and lighted 
on Cinderella’s shoulders, one on her right 
shoulder and one on her left. 

The prince married Cinderella, and her 
proud sisters came to the wedding. As the 
people went into the church, the proud sisters 
followed close to Cinderella, one on each 
side. As they went in, the doves picked 
out their right eyes. As they came out, the 
doves picked out their left eyes. So the 
proud, cruel sisters were blind. But I think 
Cinderella, who was now the queen, cared 
for them and treated them kindly. 



Round about, round about, in a tine ring a, 

Thus we dance, thus we dance, and thus we 
sing a; 

Trip and go, to and fro, over this green a, 

All about, in and out, for our brave queen a, 

Round about, round about, in a tine ring a, 

Thus we dance, thus we dance, and thus we 
sing a; 

Trip and go, to and fro, over this green a, 

All about, in and out, for our brave queen a. 

We have danced round about, in a tine 
ring a, 

We have danced merrily, and thus we sing a; 

All about, in and out, over this green a, 

To and fro, trip and go, to our brave queen a. 



[ i3i ] 



Listening to the Fairies, 
r 132 ] 


The Dream-Fairy. 


133 


The Dream-Fairy* 

A little fairy comes at night, 

Her eyes are blue, her hair is brown, 

With silver spots upon her wings, 

And from the moon she flutters down. 

She has a little silver wand, 

And when a good child goes to bed, 

She waves her wand from right to left 
And makes a circle round its head. 

And then it dreams of pleasant things, 

Of fountains filled with fairy fish, 

And trees that bear delicious fruit 
And bow their branches at a wish. 

Of arbors filled with dainty scents 
From lovely flowers that never fade; 

Bright flies that glitter in the sun, 

And glow-worms shining in the shade; 

And singing-birds with gifted tongues 
For singing songs and telling tales; 

And pretty dwarfs to show the way 
Through fairy hills and fairy dales. 


— Thomas Hood. 


134 Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 

Slumber Song. 

Creep into my arms, my baby dear, 

And mother will sing to you, soft and low, 
A little song you’ll be glad to hear, 

Of the old moon-sheep and her lambs, that go 
Up the sky, 

And down the sky, 

And over the hills that seem so high. 

The moon is the mother sheep, my dear; 

The stars are her little lambs, and they 
Follow her, follow her, there and here, 

In the wide sky-meadows to leap and play 
Up the sky, 

And down the sky, 

And over the hill-tops, by and by. 

Rock-a-by, baby, and go to sleep. 

The little star-lambs will sleepy grow, 

And all lie down with the moon to sleep 
Till the sun goes down at night, and so 
Up the sky 
And down the sky 

The moon and her little white lambs go by. 
Go to sleep, 

And mother’ll keep 

Watch o’er her lamb, like the old moon-sheep. 

— Eben E. R exford, in Youth's Companion . 


Lists of Words of More Than 
One Syllable. 


[Drill on these before requiring the children to read.] 



The Frog Prince* 

beau ti ful 

pad dler 

ug ly 

daugh ter 

gold en 

life less 

flow ers 

pret ti est 

sor ry 

sun shine 

com pan ion 

ten der ly 

cas tie 

silk en 

mo ment 

for est 

fast er 

friend ly 

foun tain 

din ner 

un til 

prin cess 

prom ised 

hap pi ly 

play ing 

be side 

mar ried 

stretch ing 

to geth er 


The Straw, the Coal and 

[ the Bean* 

gath ered 

fin gers 

be neath 

hand ful 

trav el 

fright ened 

oth er 

my self 

tai lor 

broth ers 

a cross 

ev er y 

six ty 

light ly 

[ 135 ] 



Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


136 



Fairy Tell-True, 

some times 

jour ney 

peo pie 

noth ing 

be longs 

be lieve 

morn ing 

be gan 

an oth er 

be fore 

won der ful 

fol low 

di a monds 

false hood 

wick ed 

glit ter ing 

be come 

a round 

pal ace 

ei ther 

al ways 

four teen 

ber ries 



Little Red-Cap. 

grand moth er 

car ry ing 

gob bled 

vel vet 

a pron 

blank ets 

bot tie 

cot tage 

an swered 

nar row 

ea si ly 

cur tains 

a mong 

lis ten 

swal lowed 

ear ly 

wan dered 


The 

Lady-Bird and 

the Fly. 

scream ing 

rus tie 

maid en 

creak ing 

pitch er 

fu ner al 


Lists of Words. 


13 


The Crystal Ball* 


crys tal 

set tie 

im age 

ea gle 

dis pute 

yon der 

moun tain 

min ute 

h er y 

sec ond 

a greed 

buf fa lo 

a fraid 

who ev er 

fish er man 

gi ants 

mir ror 

hand some 


The Lost Son 

» 

hap py 

an gry 

coun try 

what ev er 

gar dens 

lad der 

nei ther 

pic ture 

lone ly 

The Little Rabbit's 

Bride* 

cab bag es 

rain bow 

be cause 

kind ly 

car pet 

a lone 

let tuc es 

vi o lets 

hun gry 

wed ding 

mur mur ing 

wait ing 

al tar 

or gan 

ket tie 

Queen 

Lettice of the Golden Hair* 

vis it 

win dow 

wan dered 

with out 

e ven ing 
king dom. 

bit ter ly 


138 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


The Old Man and His Grandson. 

ta ble earth en pen nies 

cor ner any thing grand fath 


The Twelve Windows. 


ra ven 
kind ness 
re pay 
yes ter day 


mer ri ly 
bot tom 
bas ket 
a ny where 


whis pered 
a loud 
cun ning 


The Palace of the Golden Path. 

sur round ed think ing 


The House in the Wood. 


wood man 
dark ness 
an i mals 
creat ures 
cel lar 


fin ished 
mid night 
a wak ened 
a woke 
cov ered 


slip pers 
break fast 
ser vants 
re main 
un kind 


Lists of Words. 


139 


wid ow 
spin die 
mead ow 
far ther 
ap pies 


en chant ed 
un hap py 
cru el ly 


sun rise 
rib bon 


The Two Sisters. 


Hoi le 
feath ers 
dirt y 
la zy 
of fered 


buck et ful 
smut ty 
ba ker 
ov en 


The Enchanted Stag. 

thirst y gai ly 

ti ger col lar 

ea ger ly no ble 

gar ter 


The Gold-Spinner* 

guessed fair ies 

Tim ber-toe 


The Three Feathers. 


Sim pie 
po lite ly 
won der ful 


hoi lowed 
tur nip 
splen did 


car ri age 
del i cate 
charm ing 


140 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


The King of the Forest* 


o bey 

for got 

nee dies 

jew els 

re turn 

au tumn 

rap id ly 

sil ver 

thous and 

fare well 

cock le 

spi der 

con sent ed 

wal nut 

for got ten 


i ron 



Briar-Rose* 


ago 

wis dom 

kitch en 

in vited 

e lev enth 

stirred 

kins folk 

fif teenth 

high er 

thir teen 

birth day 

tow er 

sev enth 

e vil 

greet ed 

mod est 

hun dred 

them selves 

gen tie 

com mand ed 

cir cles 

cheer ful 

wind ing 


Cinderella, the Little 

Ash-Girl. 

Cin der el la 

pig eons 

nod ded 

dy ing 

tur tie doves 

trick ling 

a gainst 

hith er 

wood en 

ha zel 

buck les 

fit ted 

wa tered 

ev er y bod y 

home ward 

dish ful 

back ward 

shoul der 


Lists of Words. 


141 


flut ters 
pleas ant 
de li cious 


slum ber 


Queen Mab* 
branch es 
ar bors 
glit ter 

Slumber Song* 
fol low 


dain ty 
gift ed 


mead ows 


Phonic Charts. 


The phonic charts given below may easily be 
taught to children during the first school year, 
thus giving them the power to find for themselves 
the pronunciation of most of the words already 
familiar to them as spoken words. It is not to 
be used as an aid to spelling. A child should 
not, at this stage, be taught to depend on diacriti- 
cal marks, nor should so-called silent letters be 
marked for it. Do not attempt to teach the chart 
all at once, but teach the sounds of the letters 
and the combinations as they are needed in the 
lessons, using such key-words as are already 
most familiar to the child. 

These charts show the regular sounds of the 
letters and of the more usual combinations of 
letters, especially in words of one syllable. A 
little drill, with words written on the blackboard, 
will give the children facility in pronouncing any 
word in which the letters and combinations have 
their regular sounds. 


[ 142 ] 


Phonic Charts. 


143 


Chart I. 


at=m a t 
e=f e d 

i— P i n 

o=n o t 
u=t u b 


y= my , 

J re ply 


a e=m ate 
e e=h ere 
i e^p" i n e 
o e=n o t e 
u e=t u b e 
y e=t y p e 

(in words of one syllable and in final 
accented syllables.) v 


y— Fan ny (in 

final unaccented 

Chart II. 

syllables.) 

b=b a t 

k=:k ing 

f s=s a t 

c=c a t 

1=1 i k e 

1 s=i s 

d=d i d 

m=m a n 

t=t e n 

f=f e d 

n=n ow 

v=v i n e 

g=g e t 

P=P e t 

rn 

<v 

* 

II 

£ 

h— h i t 

qu=qu i ck 

x=w a x 

j— j ust 

r=r u n 

Chart III. 

y=y e s 
z—b u zz 

ai=s ai 1 

oe=t oe 

ar=h ar d 

au=h au 1 

oi=oi 1 

er=h er 

aw=s aw 

J oo=m oo n 

ir=s ir 

ay=s ay 

1 oo=b oo k 

ur=f ur 


144 


Grimm’s Fairy Stories. 


( ea=ea ch \ ou=h ou s e or=n or th 

1 ea— h ea d (in a 1 ou=s ou 1 


few words.) J ow=ow 1 


ee=s ee 

l ow=s n ow 

ei=re c ei v e 
j ie=t ie 
) ie=th ie f 

oy=b oy 

Chart IV* 


ch=ch o p 

th=th i 

s 

ck=b a ck 

kn=kn 

ee 

sh— sh o p 
tch=c a tch 
th=th i ck 

wr— wr i t e 

Chart V. 

ang=s ang 

alt=h alt 

ought=s ought 

ing=s ing 

ald=b aid 

aught=c aught 

ong=s ong 

alk=w alk 

alm=c aim 

ung=s ung 

oll=r oil 

ind=f ind 

ank=s ank 

old=h old 

ild=ch ild 

ink=s ink 

olt=b olt 

ce=f a ce 

unk=s unk 

igh=h igh 

g e =a ge 

all=b all 

eigh=eigh t 

dge=h e dge 


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AUG 181900 








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